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ugh how to discourage puppy mill purchase

My SIL is devastated after the loss of her dog. She found one of those puppy mill clearing house websites (we are in Pa - unfortunate home to many puppy mills). I don't want to be righteous - but she isn't thinking clearly. I just keep sending leads on better choices. Maybe I need to MYOB but I don't want to support puppy mills & worse I don't want her getting a sickly dog.

Oh, what a horrible thing! Isn't it awful when otherwise well educated people make terrible choices?

Telling that that happens....what is wrong with people??!! Know you want to bitch slap your SIL!!!

All you can do is point them to accurate information....if it were me, I know I would have a difficult time with future interactions and relationship with SIL if she disregarded your advice and made a choice that so negatively impacted the welfare of future dogs and puppies.

You could tell her my friend's story - bought a puppy from a mill and the little thing's rectum prolapsed. Vet repaired it the first time but it happened again and there was no possibility of repair. They had to put the poor little guy down.

I think you are great to even want to try. I wish I could offer advice, but all I can do is offer sympathy, because I have recently been dealing with ignorant horse owners who don't have a clue how to find an appropriate horse -- who don't know anything about horses at all.

I agree with Equibrit about taking her to your local rescue.

I tried to do that for a friend of mine recently who was grieving after having two elderly ailing kitties put down and who could not wait to find one at a rescue. Had to be as like the old ones as possible, regardless of where from. She bought one young kitten from the nearest "breeder" and lost him within a month due to an infection the kitten brought from the "breeder." Within a month she had found 2 more kittens. These, thank goodness, seem to be healthy, but I could NOT get her to even go look at any rescues. Why, I do not know.

I hope you have better success with your friend ...

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Send her some links about what a puppy mill is really like. Some sites are more level headed and fact based than others so play to her strength. If she likes statistics then send her those. If she has a soft spot for animals suffering then overload her with pictures.

Great to encourage her to consider/visit rescues, but please also educate her to differentiate between a truly responsible breeder (I happen to believe there are such creatures) and a puppy mill, and an irresponsible breeder.

We could be more specific as far as health testing, etc., if we knew what breed we were talking about.

All b reeders have some commonalities, like lifetime responsibility for the puppies they breed, doing the utmost to select the best to breed, as far as health, temperament, conformation, performance, etc., and providing the best health care, pregnancy/whelping/neonatal/ puppy care, socialization, etc. Plus screening for prospective homes, warn her the questions might soon intrusive but it is like joining a family.

I saw a great poem about "if you have so loved a dog … honor its memory by rescuing another". I'll keep looking for it.

I think this is the poem I was looking for:
ROOM IN YOUR HEART

Sorrow fills a barren space;
you close your eyes and see my face
and think of times I made you laugh,
the love we shared, the bond we had,
the special way I needed you -
the friendship shared by just we two.

The day's too quiet, the world seems older,
the wind blows now a little colder.
You gaze into the empty air
and look for me, but I'm not there -
I'm in heaven and I watch you,
and I see the world around you too.

I see little souls wearing fur,
souls who bark and souls who purr
born unwanted and unloved -
I see all this and more above -
I watch them suffer, I see them cry,
I see them lost, I watch them die.
I see unwanted thousands born -
and when they die, nobody mourns.

These little souls wearing fur
(Some who bark and some who purr)
are castaways who - unlike me -
will never know love or security.
A few short months they starve and roam,
Or caged in shelters - nobody takes home.
They're special too (furballs of pleasure),
filled with love and each one, a treasure.

My pain and suffering came to an end,
so don't cry for me, my person, my friend.
But think of the living -
those souls with fur
(some who bark and some who purr) -
And though our bond can't be broken apart,
make room for another in your home and
your heart.

Herein lies the problem....she is looking for a mini labradoodle. specifically brown with blue eyes.

The website directs you to the name & number of "breeders" almost all having Amish surnames. The website says "we don't support puppy mills" so she believes it. Makes me sick how our legislature does nothing to stop this. Even if I can convince her it is a puppy mill, then the question will be what will happen to the puppy if I don't take her....puppy mills are too easy - cheap prices, good availability,etc. Makes me sick

There is no such thing as a mini labradoodle so that should make it a little easier to tell her no. That said, there is no such thing as a labradoodle either, it is just a fancy name for a mutt. I personally would stay out of it.

Well, a "mini labradoodle" breeder should do the same health testing that reputable lab and poodles breeders do, and should be held to the same standards otherwise, as far as selection, socialization, screening, taking dogs back, etc.

Seems to me on the Pennhip database, labradoodles were actually worse than either poodles or labs, as far as hip joint laxity. Probably because so many labradoodle breeders do not do the health testing that either reputable lab or poodle breeders do.

Can you talk to her and find out what qualities she thought mini labradoodles might have that she is seeking? Maybe you could steer her in the direction of a particular breed, or if she is simply seeking a companion dog with ZYZ characteristics, maybe a mix from the shelter would suit her, if it could be ascertained that it had the qualities she is seeking.

Laurierace, you may well be right that mini labradoodle Is just a fancy name for a "mutt", but dogs of this cross certainly exist, in considerable numbers, just as perch x TBs and other crosses are common in horses for a variety of reasons. They are not breeds, just crosses that people often do for various reasons. Some attempts have apparently been made to go on with these crosses with the lab or golden x poodle and develop them into actual breeds, but it seems the primary, original cross is what is most often desired.

The various lurcher and longdog crosses are examples of dog crosses that are not uncommon, for specific reasons. As long as breeders employ the same ethics as purebred breeders do, And employ the same selection criteria, theoretically I have no objection. However, it is extremely rare that they do so, in my experience.

But the OP should know what it is that a good breeder does, regardless of what breed, crossbreed, or mixed breed, they fancy (theoretically).

You might also mention to the SIL that whatever ridiculous price she pays for the dog, plus shipping will be tiny compared to the medical bills and suffering that a poorly bred, and puppy mill raised dog will produce. And you might mention that many puppy mill animals are kept in one cage their entire lives, and the chances of them becoming reliably house broken are virtually zero with the accompanying destruction of rugs, flooring, and other household items for the life of the animal.

I usually go for the house training. Backyard breeders and puppymills often use cages with pullout drawers underneath so the dogs learn to soil where they stand. This often makes it very difficult to house train them since they've overcome their natural inhibition to soil their beds (so you can't easily crate train). That usually makes people think twice.

Not only the housebreaking issue, but they have so many more health problems as others have mentioned because of indiscriminate breeding. I have also heard many stories of puppies being very sick and needing to have lots of vet bills. So much for a cheap dog , eh ?

If she doesn't want to go the rescue route, maybe do some searches online for her for some reputible breeders. They are out there, and they advertise too. First big clue is that they have small numbers of puppies available, and also most have a 'take back' clause - that if for whatever reason you can no longer keep their dog, they'll take it back and provide a good home.

Aside from the obvious issues with puppy mills, I hate the idea that she wants to replace her dog with a look alike. Poor little pup is bound to disappoint her. Just because he looks like the old dog doesn't mean he'll act like the old dog.